


Don't I do it for You?

by arizonaclouttea



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Manipulation, Established Relationship, M/M, but like for good, nobody goes to jail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 01:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30097986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arizonaclouttea/pseuds/arizonaclouttea
Summary: Respect is not something Carl dwelled over. Not something he let hold a significant place in his life. But Nick, Nick couldn't help but get sour over silly things like respect.(or the Bike scene rewritten.)
Relationships: Carl Gallagher/Nick (Shameless: I Only Miss Her When I'm Breathing)
Kudos: 2





	Don't I do it for You?

"Baby we gotta go before we're late to the party." wrapping his arms around his boyfriend Carl places a chaste kiss to his temple before slowly  
peppering kisses along his face to the base of his neck. Turning around Nick catches his boyfriends lips in his.

"Yeah."

Carl frowns, letting his arms drop to his sides as his partner moves around the room gathering things avoiding eye contact. Pushing his hair  
out of his eyes, Carl continues to stare at the older boy. Taking notice Nick turns around and rasies an eyebrow in response.

"Why're you acting like that? Whats got you so tight?" Carl stands and takes the few steps necessary in order to be directly in his boyfriend's  
line of sight. Tilting his head to look directly in his eyes Nick looks back down and lets out a heavy sigh.

"We don't have to go if you don't to." Carls arms find a way to snake around the boy and hold him close burying his head in his chest so his words come out  
in mumbles.

"How would Debbie get there." Carl shrugs, not lifting his head as he didn't deem it necessary.

"She can walk," he lets out a sigh."or catch an Uber?" he looks up at Nick for conformation as the idea of staying inside with him starts to sound more and more  
appealing. He feels Nick laugh and smiles back up at him.

"Nah thats your sister you should be there," Carls eyes and brows still hold worry, Nick thumbs them over in a futile attempt to smooth the worry out of them  
"I'm fine, I'm serious." he leans down and presses a innocnet kiss to his lovers lips as if it would make their promise that much more serious.

____

The car ride to the gender reveal party was fine.

Until it wasn't.

The light hearted teasing and joking came to a sudden halt when a familiar bike comes into view. Nick slows the car to a stop putting it in park before turning to Carl.

"It's my bike."

"It's not worth it." Carl sighs out maintaing eye contact with his sigifnicant other willing him to keep driving.

"But it's MY bike?" Nick returned the gaze. Both trying to convey completely different messages with their eyes. 

"And it's STILL not worth it, baby." Carl lifts his hand to caress the side of Nicks face and Nick leans into his lovers touch. He sighs  
before putting the car in drive and continuing on to their destination unable to shake the feeling of uneasy nagging feeling that wouldn't go away even upon arriving to the party.

It was HIS bike? A bike he bought but was once again taken from him because someone elses needs were more important than his wants,his happiness.

It was disrespectful.

It was the principal?

It was his.

His decision was made. Nick made pleasant small talk with a few of the Gallaghers before slipping from the party into the day on a mission.  
Not even for the lost bike anymore, but for his respect. Bounding down the street,goal in mind. Intentions set. He had been disrespected his entire  
life he would have to earn it one way or another.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Nick whips his head around and his greeted with fierce and furious eye contact. "Don't tell me this is about that fucking bike? I'm gonna be pissed if its about that god damned bike."

He hangs his head in shame. "I bought you a CAR for Christ Sake? Who gives a shit about the bike maybe the kid needed it?" 

It wasn't about the bike.

"It's not about the bike. Its about respect. It was mine. It IS mine and he stole it, Carl. What don't you get? I deserve respect and-"

"Do I not!? Do I not ALSO deserve respect Nicholas? You always get so FUCKED UP about respect that you don't even realize how disrespectful you can be sometimes."

His face was red from anger and his usual calm aura was frigid. Hot tears stung his eyes as he stared up at his boyfriend still seething.

"Do you care more about the respect of a 12 year old than me? Do you care more about that damned bike than ME? Do you care about respect more than you love me?"  
voice cracking at the end of the sentence and tears now flowing freely as he no longer cared about holding them in. Stunned silent the only thing Nick could do was wait as his boyfriend unloaded on him.  
It was the least he could do.

Out of respect.

"So go! GO and get the respect you need so badly over a bike I can buy you off of amazon 10 fold. Cause who gives a fuck about your BOYFRIENDS feelings." Nick steps forward towards Carl, extends an arm to reach out for him.

"No! Don't touch me, go! Since the bike is so fucking important." Carl spit his words like venom but made no move to object his lovers touch.

Pulling his love close, he was met with pounding fist into his chest, before arms squeezed around him and a sob wracked from the smallers body into his chest.  
Holding him he tried to convey all the apologies he could without using words as he felt they would fail him.

"I just don't want you to leave me. Don't leave me." he looked up face blotchy and pink and his eyes were rimmed red from the crying.

"I won't leave you." Nick said what the younger needed to hear and meant it.

"Everyone I love always leaves me. You CAN'T leave me." he fisted the front of the boys shirt.

"I won't." he held the shaky wrist of his lover and pressed a kiss to his forehead. aloowing the boy to catch his breath.

Barely above a whisper two words were uttered. "You promise?"

"I promise." and when Nick makes a promise he keeps it.

It'd be disrespectful to break one.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey yall, I really wanted to capture how trauma affects Carl in this fic and how Monica’s absences and Frank’s flighyness really make Carl dependent on Nick. Hence why he NEEDS him. But I also wanted to characterize WHY Nick needed that bike so bad. But let me know what y’all think.


End file.
